Allan Burns, co-creator of The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Munsters, dies at 85

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Burns, who died three days after Mary Tyler Moore Show star Cloris Leachman, won five Emmys for his work on the hit CBS sitcom, which he co-created with James L. Brooks. Burns and Brooks would go on to co-create the successful Mary Tyler Moore Show spinoffs Rhoda and Lou Grant. "His singular writing career brought him every conceivable recognition," tweeted Brooks. "But, you had to  know him to appreciate his full rarity. He was simply  the finest man I have every known. A beauty of a human." Before Mary Tyler Moore, Burns and writing partner Chris Hayward created the mid-1960s sitcoms My Mother the Car and The Munsters. In 1969, Burns joined forces with James L. Brooks. Burns as part of the writing staff of Room 222. Soon after, Grant Tinker, who was married to Mary Tyler Moore at the time, took notice of the pair and enlisted them to create a sitcom for his wife. "I am so sad at the passing of the Allan Burns," tweeted Mary Tyler Moore and Lou Grant star Ed Asner. "A mensch like no other, a friend and so incredibly talented.  Say hello to the gang Allan."